| |
 |
Monday, February 04, 2002 |
Let Your PC Turbocharge Your TV: Personal video recorders such as TiVo cost a lot; why not build one yourself? [in BusinessWeek]
"My conclusion: It will cost you a little more than $200, a free evening or weekend, and--geek alert--the guts to open up your computer and tinker a bit to install the special video card. It's easier than you think. If you're still intimidated, I'll suggest a couple of ways to get around it."
The television industry is running scared [in The Boston Globe]
"Adding TiVo-like capabilities to a PC allows for a variety of paradigm-busting applications. Say you've got multiple computers in your home, all networked together. The SnapStream software contains a built-in network server, so you can watch a recorded program on any PC in the house. Suppose you own a palm-top computer that runs Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system. You can download a SnapStream video and watch it during the morning commute."
Ouch. BusinessWeek has an article detailing how to add digital video recorder technology (also known as personal video recorders) to your PC, complete with recommendations for video cards. This link comes from the comments in a Slashdot post called The Napsterization of TV that itself points to a Boston Globe article about SnapStream recording software and what it may mean for digitization of televised content. To paraphrase one of the commenters in the Slashdot article, if you're reading about this in BW and TBL, it's time for the bigco folks to wake up and figure out how to work with these technologies, not against them.
2:07:01 PM 
|
|
Philips Burning on Protection "But Jeff Joseph, vice president of communication for the Consumer Electronics Association -- a consortium of manufacturers -- says the standoff could require 'a huge education campaign' that could force retailers to segregate copy-protected CDs from those with the logo, something Amazon has already begun doing.... 'The last time Universal and Disney squared off against a major consumer electronics company was the Sony Betamax case,' von Lohmann said. 'They lost....' Philips' patents on much of the technology for CD audio begins expiring this year and next. And newer audio formats such as DVD-Audio already boast far superior sound quality than CDs. Doris thinks the compact disc will be replaced by 'something like what was tried with DVD-Audio, but with better copy protection.' Some of that protection may come from legislation: Senator Fritz Hollings has yet to introduce the Security Systems Standards and Certification Act (SSSCA) into Congress, but drafts in circulation would require all devices sold in the U.S. for playing audio and/or video to include copyright protection mechanisms dictated by the entertainment industry." [in Wired News]
Every "device" would include PCs, too. The SSSCA is just as misguided as the DMCA. How come we don't hear Congress and the bigco copyright holders advocating for the marketplace to work this one out? Because of the money. For a glimpse into one possible future, read A Love Song for Napster. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
9:38:25 AM
|
|
Comments by: YACCS
© Copyright 2002 Jenny Levine.
|
|
|
|
|
